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Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Breaking Bad,' Bad Boys, Bad Choices

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First things first: FEAR NOT. This is a non-spoilery Breaking Bad discussion. If you don't believe me, consider that even two of the people in the room haven't seen the whole run of the series, so if there were spoilers, we'd know (and get punched). Instead, we try to put the themes of the series in the context of a bigger discussion about what kinds of protagonists we can and cannot root for, what kinds of television are growing and shrinking, and what kinds of conversations we want to have about the shows we love.

And then, I throw myself into pixelated battle by being the representative team member who has been playing Grand Theft Auto V. (I have, you should know, made progress since we recorded the show on Monday.) Do we get into how being a nonviolent person intersects with this kind of game? Sure. Do we get into how hard it is to make your fingers work? Sure. Tragically, my explanation of how I tried unsuccessfully to steal a police car landed on the cutting-room floor, but those are the breaks. (Also the part where I explained that I played Star Wars pinball and initially couldn't figure out where the flippers were and didn't realize I was just bumping the table.)

As always, we close with what's making us happy this week. Stephen is generally happy about the rise of nice geniuses — really! Trey is happy about being gently corrected (really!), and also about a television adaptation of some of his favorite theater. Glen is happy about going back on something he said he would not do, but especially about something he'd like you to read. I am happy about several things, including most importantly design camp and this lip sync battle.

Find us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter: me, Stephen, Glen, Trey, producer Nick Fountain and our esteemed producer emeritus and music director, Mike Katzif.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Linda Holmes is a pop culture correspondent for NPR and the host of Pop Culture Happy Hour. She began her professional life as an attorney. In time, however, her affection for writing, popular culture, and the online universe eclipsed her legal ambitions. She shoved her law degree in the back of the closet, gave its living room space to DVD sets of The Wire, and never looked back.